Russia’s President Vladimir Putin addresses more than 1,000 journalists at his annual press conference in Moscow, December 2013. © Sasha Mordovets/Contributor/Getty Images
What does Vladimir Putin want? Russia’s President’s annexation of Crimea in the spring, and continued aggression since then, have made this one of the world’s most urgent questions. We need to understand what he wants if we are to figure out how much of a threat he poses and how to contain him. So far, most efforts to answer this puzzle have taken their cue from the 19th century, seeking to explain Putin either as a player of Metternich-style …read more
Source: Prospect
